Christmas Party

Fall Fundraising Activity

Round Top Collection fundraising was a wonderful experience to create awareness about our growing environment and commitment to creating butterfly gardens.

November General Meeting

Attendees: Larry and Beverly Allen, Cathy Bortz, Lindey Bortz, Bonnie, Buhl, Norma Chiaramonte, Joe D’Virgilio, Debbie Haluch, Norma Islam, Norma Islam’s Mother, Ellen Jones, David and Marcia Mausolf, Ian and Nicole McWilliam, Mike Owens, Mike Roberts, Ann Sansbury, Dale Smothers

 Speaker: Sherri Harrah from A Plant for All Seasons, spoke on Going Green with Winter. She spoke on organic gardening and minimizing chemicals in your landscape and then auctioned off some of her products.

Refreshments: Refreshments and door prize were provided by Larry and Beverly Allen.

Minutes –  September 9 Meeting Minutes – a motion was made by Norma Chiaramonte and seconded by Marcia Mausolf to dispense with reading of the minutes.

Treasurer’s Report - Treasurer Report was given by Secretary/Treasurer, Ann Sansbury and approved by all.

Old Business:

·       The replanting for the Butterfly Garden in Phase 1 is complete. Debbie has added cards for each type of plant in the garden and gave a lesson for members to use the QR codes on the cards.

·      

      Mike Owens announced that we had sold three bricks for the garden tonight.

·       

      The signs for the Butterfly Garden in Phase 3 have been ordered.

·       

      Debbie has been using borax and sugar to remove ants from both gardens.

·       

      Larry Allen has ordered 7 new signs and associated riders for meeting announcements.

·       

      We will be doing a fundraiser at Round Top Collection all day on Saturday, November 16^th. 20 percent of all sales will be donated to the Garden Club for anyone who mentions us when they check out.

·       

      Norma Chiaramonte announced an upcoming social on Friday, November 22^nd. It was voted to have the social at Marvinos.

New Business:

·       

      The Garden Club Federation Meeting was the second Friday and the speaker spoke on the Audubon Society Ally.

·       

      Wreaths Across America will be on December 14^th at 11:00 for anyone who would like to participate.

·       

      We should all be working toward becoming Butterfly Certified in our own yards.

·       

      Norma is working on a donation project for December.

Share Table: We have Wandering Jew plants and Frost Cloth on the share table.

Gardening Tips of the Month:

Spray your favorite garden shovel with a silicone or Teflon lubricant to make shoveling a breeze. A good coating of this spray will make any type of soil slip right off the shovel without a mess.

Next meeting is Friday, December 6th at Debbie's house for annual Christmas party.

Upcoming Fundraiser for Butterfly Gardens

Come join us Saturday, November 16th 

Refreshing our #1 Butterfly Garden for Winter

Before Replanting

Garden club members meet this "coolish" morning to clean up garden bed and replant for winter.  Color plants and mulch were provided by IMS Landscaping.

Marking plants with QR codes

What is in milkweed?

Caterpillar

Ready for next butterfly cycle

Apparently, someone needed color plants and took quite a few before we arrived.  The garden looks great with the remaining ones.  Thank you to members for all your support and work.

Luncheon with Garden Club members and friends

Cafe at Brookwood Luncheon

Each year, garden club members and friends enjoy lunch and a holiday decorating program at Brookwood Community Center.  Brookwood is a God-centered educational, residential, and entrepreneurial community
for adults with disabilities.

October General Monthly Meeting

 Meeting was called to order by President Debbie Haluch at 7:00 pm.

Attendees: Norma Chiaramonte, Debbie Haluch, Norma Islam, Ellen and Mark Jones, David and Marcia Mausolf, Ian and Nicole McWilliam, Cathy Oland, Ken and Jane Richardson (New Members), Mike Roberts, Ann Sansbury, Dale Smothers.

Speaker: John Ferguson, Owner, Nature’s Way Resource spoke on the “Soil Food Web” and explained how biological (organic) methods work.  How they save you time and money in your gardening projects by preventing many problems. The biological methods are sustainable; greatly reduce water requirements, prevent problems, eliminate air and water pollution, and lower total management costs from property management to erosion control.

Refreshments: Refreshments and door prize were provided by David and Marcia Mausolf .

Minutes –  September 9 Meeting Minutes – a motion was made by Norma Chiaramonte and seconded  Marcia Mausolf to dispense with reading of the minutes.

Treasurer’s Report - Treasurer Report was given by Secretary/Treasurer, Ann Sansbury and approved by all.

Old Business:

·       Ellen and Mark Jones are the new Garden Angels.

·       

      We are looking for someone to head up the Membership Committee to welcome new members

·       

      Larry Allen had emailed a proposal for new meeting announcement signs with locations. We currently have 14 full Meeting signs. Larry has 8 and Ian has 6. Larry’s are in good shape; Ian has 3 that should be replaced ( only have print on one side and all six toppers should be replaced (print only on one side). Ann Sansbury made the motion to accept this proposal and order the signs. Norma Chiaramonte seconded it and it passed unanimously.

·       

      Butterfly Gardens – Larry Allen will no longer be coordinating the planting of the butterfly gardens. Thank you Larry for time invested in this project. Ann and Debbie will be responsible going forward. We will be replanting the Phase 1 Butterfly Garden on November 2. Debbie and Ann will be meeting with Kyle of IMS Landscaping to decide on plants.

New Business:

·       Norma Baker presented a cruise from Galveston, June 7, 2020 that would feature botanical gardens at each port of entry for the 7 day cruise.

·       

      Phase 2 Butterfly Garden is ready to be Monarch Certified. 1) $16 to register and get way station certified; 2) $17 to post weatherproof signage – 2 ($17) = $34; 3) Monarch Waystation Brochure $15 for 100. Mark Jones made the motion to order all three; Norma seconded and it was unanimously approved.

·     

          We are working on getting Phase 1 and 2 Butterfly Garden Butterfly Certified for North American Butterfly Association (NABA).

·       

      We should all be working toward becoming Butterfly Certified in our own yards.

·       

      Round Top Collection day will be Saturday November 16 all day. We will get 20% from the sale to anyone who mentions CCLGC when they check out.

  

Gardening Tips of the Month:

·      

      Now that the weather is cooler, it's a good time to divide and move perennials. Do this at least several weeks prior to your average first hard frost in order to give plants time to recover from transplant shock and establish new roots. Cover garden beds with several inches of mulch for extra winter protection.

·       

      Rather than cutting back all your perennials now, leave plants with seed heads, such as coneflowers, asters and ornamental grasses to provide food for your feathered friends through the harshest months.

Meeting was concluded at 9:15 pm

September General Meeting

Meeting started at 7:00 pm with President Debbie Haluch introducing presenter Susie Marten.

Attendees: Beverly and Larry Allen, Bonnie Buhl, Norma Chiaramonte, Debbie Haluch, Ellen and Mark Jones, David and Marcia Mausolf, Ian and Nicole McWilliam, Cathy Oland, Louise Rugaard (New Member), Ann Sansbury, Dale Smothers

Speaker: Susie Marten, Native Plant Outreach Specialist for the Katy Prairie Conservancy spoke about prairie conservation and planting native plants for pollinators.

Refreshments: Refreshments were provided by Debbie Haluch and Dale Smothers.

                                                                             

Minutes –  May 13, 2019 Meeting Minutes – a motion was made and seconded to dispense with reading of the minutes.

Treasurer’s Report - Treasurer Report was given by Secretary/Treasurer, Ann Sansbury and approved by all

Yard of the Season – Phase 3 Winner – Joseph Kazmir,  No winner was chosen for

 Phase 2.

Old Business:

·       Butterfly Gardens – The butterfly gardens need upkeep and we need a Garden Angel to periodically check on the gardens. Phase 1 garden is not being watered due to water shortage. Workday for Phase 1 garden is scheduled for November 2. Workday for Phase 3 garden will be announced later.

·       Bricks – 10 new bricks are here, 9 for Phase 1 and 1 for Phase 3.

New Business:

·       Sign-up sheet for refreshments and door prizes was passed around.

·       Two changes to the current By Laws were proposed and accepted:

1. The maximum amount paid to speakers is increased to $50.00. Motion was made to accept this change by Ellen Jones and seconded by Bonnie Buhl and passed unanimously.

2. Committees and respective duties will be added. Committees will be Signs, Yard of the Season, Communication, Tours, Social/Outreach, Jr. Garden Event, Fundraiser, Membership and Garden Angel. Motion was made to accept this change was made by Marcia Mausolf and seconded by Beverly Allen and passed unanimously.

·       Committee Chairmen for 2019-2020 are:

Signs – Larry Allen & Ian McWilliam

Yard of the Season – Ann Sansbury & Norma Chiaramonte

Communication – Ann Sansbury & Debbie Haluch

Tours – Marcia Mausolf

Social/Outreach – Norma Chiaramonte

Jr. Garden Event – Liz Hearn & Lyn McWilliam

Fundraiser – Mike Owen

Membership – Open

Garden Angel – Open

·       Federation Meeting will be Friday, September 13 at 10:00 a.m. Debbie and Ann will be going if anyone else would like to join them.

·       Houston Garden Club will hold their annual Bulb and Plant Mart 2019 on October 3-4 at Church of St. John the Divine in River Oaks. Website is http://www.gchouston.org

·       Everyone is encouraged to get their yards butterfly certified. Two websites for certification are https://nababutterfly.com/butterfly-garden-certification-program and  https://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations. We are looking into using one website for each garden.

Book Suggestion: A good book recommended for anyone who makes compost for use in a landscaping project is Teaming with Microbes.

Gardening Tips of the Month:

·       Later in September is the time to apply lawn fertilizer to keep the grass healthy growing right up to first frost. Fall fertilized lawns are better equipped to make it through the winter and resume growth next spring than lawns that receive no fertilizer.

·       Got a problem with vegetation: Take pictures and email Skip Richter at rrichter@ag.tamu.edu.

      

       Meeting concluded at 9:00 pm

Upcoming September meeting

Cypress Creek Garden Club is open to all who want to learn more about gardening and our environment.

Meeting is Monday, September 9th at 7pm

Topic: “Planting for Pollinators”

Our speaker is Susie Marten, Native Plant Outreach Specialist for the Katy Prairie Conservancy, will be sharing her love of the pollinators and plants native to our area. Learn why and how you can bring more birds, butterflies and other wildlife into your garden.

http://www.katyprairie.org/

May General Meeting

Attendees:  Bonnie Buhl, Norma Chiaramonte, Joe and Wendy D’Virgilio, Debbie Haluch, Liz Hearn, Ellen and Mark Jones, Ian and Nicole McWilliam, Cathy Oland, Ann Sansbury, Dale Smothers

Meeting Highlights:

§       April 8, 2019 Meeting Minutes – a motion was made by Norma and seconded by Mark to dispense with reading of the minutes

§       Treasurer Report was given by Secretary/Treasurer, Bonnie Buhl       and approved by all

§         Jr. Gardener Event

§  Event Update – Special thanks to Liz and Lyn for their effort and leadership in making this a record-breaking event!  A summary of discussion regarding things that contributed to the events success included:  Addition of Vermi Composting station, welcoming greeters, fire truck, step by step sign prepared by Nicole, variety of beautiful plants, teaching opportunity for children to plant their own plant, note card station to create personal message, and artsy pot stickers.  Also, Pat Hudson, editor of Pinpoint Magazine was there to take pictures that will be included in the next Pinpoint publication.  There were 79 attendees, one more than last year!

§  Fire Department Donation – A motion was made to donate $250 to the Texas Volunteer Fire Fighters Relief Fund.  The approval was unanimous

§  Kyle Franklin – A motion was made and unanimously approved to give a $100 Appreciation Gift Card

§        Butterfly Garden II

§  Planting tentatively scheduled May 20 or 21 at the new garden on Brazos Sage

§        Yard of the Month – Now:  Yard of the Season (Spring, Summer and Fall)

§  New signs Larry Allen. – one sign for each Phase 1, 2, and 3  

§  Kara Roberts will select volunteers and judge late May – delay due to illness

§  Three members volunteered to help Kara with judging – Norma, Ann and Ian

§  Amended By-Laws Article XI – Garden Club Beautification Committee

§  Amended:  The Cypress Creek Lakes Garden Club will select 1 house in each of

Sections 1, 2 and 3 for Yard of the Season.  The judging will take place in late April,

June and September

§        Committee Chair Updates

§  Garden Club Bricks, Mike Owens: 10 bricks ordered, expected ship date is June 10.

§        Nomination and Election of Officers – Nomination Committee Larry Allen, Debbie Haluch and Mike Owens

§  Nomination for President 2019 – 2021 – Debbie Haluch was nominated and unanimously approved

Nomination for Secretary Treasurer 2019 – 2021 – Ann Sansbury was nominated and unanimously approved

With great appreciation and pleasure, the new officers were installed by Ellen Jones, outgoing President.

§        Planting Tips were provided by Bonnie Buhl

§  Remember to feed tropical flowering plants like Hibiscus and Bougainvillea with tropical plant foods, NOT bloom booster with higher middle numbers.

§  If you don’t already have Hibiscus, this is a great month to plant them and get instant results.  While they love our heat, if you can protect them from the late day sun, they will perform even better.

§        The business meeting was adjourned, and we enjoyed a break for refreshments, provided by Ian and Nicole.  

      

       Following the break, several members shared information including various types of succulents and how to grow and care for them; how to plant a succulent plant garden, orchid care and growing tips; growing salvia, an interesting black and lime green caladium type plant, growing sweet potatoes and information on growing and caring for a gardenia tree.  Many plants were brought to share with others.

 

                

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm,

Bonnie and I thank you for our opportunity to serve and look forward to lending support to Debbie and Ann.  I know these women will be an asset to growing membership and advancing our goals.

Also, a heads up!  Watch for the next edition of Pinpoint Magazine.  The McWilliam family will be featured along with a mention of Nicole as our youngest and very involved Garden Club member.

Best regards, Ellen Jones and Bonnie Buhl